Maori Party

09 December 2009 Media Statement

Maori Party to look at NCEA te reo standards

The Maori Party will be looking into claims that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority’s te reo Maori standards for NCEA are biased against students at Maori language schools.

"We take any claim of Maori children being disadvantaged in the education system as being very serious,” Maori Party education spokesperson Te Ururoa Flavell said.

"I will be approaching the relevant minister responsible for NZQA to assess whether there is a bias. If there is, then I will support Nga Kura A Iwi o Aotearoa’s call for an overhaul.

“Te reo Maori is the language of tangata whenua in this country and as an official language, there should be no undermining of it.”

Nga Kura a Iwi o Aotearoa have accused NZQA of being biased against kura kaupapa Maori, kura-a-iwi and other Maori medium type schools who choose the reo rangatira NCEA option.

The groups say the anomaly is that the credit value of 12 is exactly the same for both pathways (reo rangatira and English) despite reo rangatira pathway pupils being required in their exam to function at a far more sophisticated and authentic level.

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